New Local Plan presented to South Gloucestershire Council Cabinet
The Liberal Democrat and Labour partnership which runs South Gloucestershire council presented the new draft local plan at Cabinet on November 13th. The plan sets out the housing needs for the district over the next 15 years.
There have already been two failed attempts at establishing a local plan. This has left the area open to speculative developments therefore the partnership made this one of their top priorities upon taking control at the council in May.
Cllr Chris Willmore – Cabinet Member responsible for Planning and Infrastructure – presented the plan, commenting:
“This Plan needs to be robust so that we don’t suffer the same consequences as the previous plans – that was like playing Snakes and Ladders – you get to the top of the board and hit the big snake and end up back at the beginning – that just leaves us at the mercy of the development industry. We must stop the scourge of speculative developments which has plagued South Gloucestershire especially the areas around Thornbury, Chipping Sodbury and Charfield – with developments built without adequate infrastructure – schools, health and roads.”
Leader of the Council Cllr Claire Young said:
“We’ve set out how our emerging Preferred Strategy addresses this administration’s priorities of tackling the climate and nature emergency and reducing inequalities.
“I'm really proud of what we've been able to achieve with a commitment to creating genuinely affordable housing, addressing the severe shortage of suitable housing for our young people and making sure people have homes they can afford to heat. Alongside that we are setting South Gloucestershire on a strong path towards net zero in carbon emissions.”
The draft local plan will be open for consultation from December 4th 2023.